Social Media Summit address

Good afternoon,
 
Thank you, Premier Peter Malinauskas for inviting me to speak on behalf of the Prime Minister, the Honourable Anthony Albanese.
 
It is wonderful to be in Adelaide for this joint Summit focussed on a very important discussion taking place nationally, and around the world.
 
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners – the Kaurna people – and pay respect to Elders past and present. I extend this to First Nations people attending.
 
Thank you to New South Wales Premier Chris Minns for hosting Day One of the Social Media Summit in Sydney.
 
And thanks to you – the experts, academics, policy makers and young people – who have come together to share your insights and experiences in this space.
 
A space that has evolved exponentially over decades.
 
Australia’s first Minister for Communications was known as the Postmaster General.
 
Established at Federation, the Minister’s responsibilities were the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia.
 
It wasn’t until 1975, when its Department’s name changed to reflect the rise in electronic media.
 
Fast forward to today, and the internet continues to undergo significant change; as do the challenges faced by governments and regulators.
 
We are now raising the second generation of digital natives.
 
Social media is ubiquitous and a normal part of life for many young people.
 
It can be a source of entertainment, education and connection with the world - and each other.
 
But we are also seeing social harms affecting young people.
 
And it is for this reason that we are here today.
  
The Albanese Government understands parents and communities are concerned about the harmful impacts of social media and want action.
 
Social media has a social responsibility. We know they can – and should – do better to address harms on their platforms.
 
Governments around the world are grappling with this.
 
No government, no regulator and no law can protect every child from every threat, every day.
 
But we must work together to support our children to be happy, healthy and safe.
 
The number one priority of the Albanese Government is the safety of Australians, including online.
 
Australia is a world-leader when it comes to online safety, and I want to acknowledge the terrific work of our eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant.
 
Online safety has traditionally been an area of bipartisanship in Australia, and that has served us well.
 
Our Government is taking action on a number of fronts.
 
Today, I will step out the Commonwealth’s approach to legislating a national minimum age for social media access – our latest effort to address online safety.
 
This is significant reform.
 
And we will work with State and Territory governments, regulators, experts, industry and the community.
 
Today, I will cover three things:

• The pragmatic approach we are taking to social media age limits;
• The design principles that will underpin our reforms;
• And, finally, how this aligns to our whole-of-government approach to improving online safety.

As a mother of two young daughters, I understand that parents worry about the amount of time their children spend on social media.
 
Research released by eSafety yesterday explored children’s use of online services, including social media, in 2024.
 
The Social Media Pulse Survey found a significant number of children aged 8-12 are spending time on digital platforms.
 
84 per cent reported using at least one online service, including social media or messaging services, since the start of this year.
 
While the proportion of overall users increased with age, a significant majority – three quarters – have accessed an online service by 8 years old.
 
More than two-thirds of children aged 12 have their own accounts.
 
As parents, we also worry our children may unintentionally access harmful, distressing and age-inappropriate content on their feeds.
 
We know that almost two-thirds of 14 to 17 year-olds have viewed extremely harmful content online including drug abuse, suicide or self-harm, as well as violent and gory material.
 
A quarter have been exposed to content promoting unsafe eating habits.
 
This is unacceptable and must be addressed.
 
As Communications Minister, I have been engaging with a wide range of stakeholders in this space - and I have learned a lot.
 
Young people tell me social media allows them to connect and feel socially included.
 
It can be an entry point to health and mental health support, a creative outlet, or a platform for legitimate children’s programming.
 
But young people also understand the need for protection.
 
Survey data released by the Minns Government in the lead-up to the Summit highlighted widespread community concern. 87 per cent of survey respondents said they support age limits for social media.
 
The national conversation has seen a range of ages proposed. We welcome this input.
 
Let me also take the opportunity to acknowledge the extensive work of former High Court Chief Justice Robert French.
 
Our age assurance trial is evaluating technologies that could be effective to age-limit access to social media platforms from 13 up to 16 years.
 
And preventing people under 18 from accessing online pornography.
 
The trial includes targeted stakeholder consultation and consumer-focussed research looking into attitudes towards different technologies, and issues of privacy, security and accessibility.
 
The Albanese Government has also brought forward the independent review of Australia’s Online Safety Act by a year.
 
This critical and comprehensive body of work is looking at how to ensure our regulatory settings keep pace with emerging online harms and are fit for purpose.
 
I look forward to receiving the final report in coming weeks.
 
The Albanese Government has asked the States and Territories for their views on what the age for social media access should be, including evidence from a youth development perspective.
 
The Prime Minister wrote to the Premiers and Chief Ministers last week seeking views on this, and a range of related matters, including:

• Community appetite on the role for parental consent as a factor for age limits and permissions;
• On grandfathering arrangements for existing account holders;
• The need for a safety net or exemption for support services like mental health and education;
• And what state-based supports they have available for children – particularly those who are vulnerable or isolated - to connect and access services away from social media.

 
No solution will be perfect, and consensus on the ‘right’ age is unlikely.
 
Young people are digitally savvy and will find ways to circumvent controls.
 
But we can’t let the ‘perfect’ be the enemy of good – we need to make progress to ensure our safeguards keep improving.
 
This is about protecting young people, not punishing or isolating them or their parents.
 
It is letting parents know that we are in their corner when it comes to supporting their children’s health and wellbeing.
 
I am conscious of the pressure on parents in trying to oversee when and how their children use social media.
 
Establishing an age limit for social media will help signal a set of normative values that support parents, teachers, and society more broadly.

For this reason, a key design principle of the Commonwealth’s legislative approach is to place the onus on platforms, not parents or young people.
 
Penalties for users will not feature in our legislative design.
 
Instead, it will be incumbent on the platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to ensure fundamental protections are in place at the source.
 
Our approach will ensure the eSafety regulator provides oversight and enforcement.
 
We are also considering an exemption framework to accommodate access for social media services that demonstrate a low risk of harm to children.
 
The aim of an exemption is to create positive incentives for digital platforms to develop age-appropriate versions of their apps, and embed safe and healthy experiences by design.  
 
We are conscious of the harmful features in the design of platforms that drive addictive behaviours.
 
This is why we will set parameters to guide platforms in designing social media that allows connections, but not harms, to flourish.
 
We will set a 12-month implementation timeframe to provide industry and the regulator time to implement systems and processes.
 
And we will review these measures to ensure they are effective and delivering the outcomes Australians want.

Our strategic objective is clear: social media must exercise a social responsibility.
 
This is the approach we are taking across government.
 
As Communications Minister, I am working to curb seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation from being spread at speed and at scale on social media. An issue I know was raised by young people at the Summit yesterday. 

Efforts to improve online safety for all Australians are being taken across the Albanese Government. 
 
The Minister for Industry and Science is supporting businesses and organisations to safely and responsibly use and innovate with AI.
 
The Attorney General has criminalised the non-consensual sharing of deep-fake material and he is seeking to criminalise ‘doxxing’ – that is when a victim’s identity, private information or personal details is shared without consent.
 
Myself and the Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, are making dating apps safer through a world-leading voluntary code developed by industry to better protect their users.
 
I am progressing Classification Scheme reforms to address violent and misogynistic adult content that reinforces unacceptable attitudes towards women.
 
And, finally, I amended the Basic Online Safety Expectations determination to ensure the best interest of the child is a primary consideration in service design.
 
These changes also go to the systems that power content delivered by algorithms that influence what Australians see.
  
The Albanese Labor Government is a reformist government.
 
We are not afraid to tackle difficult reforms or hold big tech to account.
 
Platforms are not above the laws of this land.
 
In legislating a minimum age to access social media, we are laying the challenge at the front door of social media companies to do better.
 
We will work with you: the experts, academics, industry, premiers, parents and young people to progress these important reforms.
 
And support young Australians to be safe and to thrive, now and into the future.
 
Thank you.